The Fountainhead

By: Ayn Rand

Narrated by: Christopher Hurt

Length: 32 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the 20th century's most challenging novels of ideas, The Fountainhead champions the cause of individualism through the story of a gifted young architect who defies the tyranny of conventional public opinion. The struggle for personal integrity in a world that values conformity above creativity is powerfully illustrated through three characters: Howard Roarke, the genius who is resented because he creates purely for the delight of his own work and on no other terms; Gail Wynand, the newspaper mogul and self-made millionaire whose power was bought by sacrificing his ideals to the lowest common denominator of public taste; and Dominique Francon, the devastating beauty whose desperate search for meaning has been twisted, through despair, into a quest to destroy the single object of her desire: Howard Roarke. Dramatic, poetic, and demanding, The Fountainhead remains one of the towering books on the contemporary intellectual scene.

©1943 The Bobbs-Merrill Company; 1968 Ayn Rand; 1993 Leonard Peikoff (P)1994 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Ayn Rand is a writer of great power. She has a subtle and ingenious mind and the capacity of writing brilliantly, beautifully, bitterly." ( New York Times Book Review)

A great story about our world today.

This story of nearly a century ago catches the essence of why our society is self destructing. I only wish someone like Roark were alive to help us rescue it.

great book, great reader

great story, great reader. one of those I wish didn't end. stayed captivating the whole time.

Another Winner

Listened to this following Atlas Shrugged, loved both. Both using fictional stories to tell many truths of social dynamics.

An Important Book

This book is more relevant today than it ever was. The struggle between individualism and collectivism, freedom and socialism. A great collection of characters on both sides. The hero is superb. Read all the Ayn Rand that you can get.

Perhaps the best book I’ve ever read/listened

It took me a life time to get to reading anything by Ayn Rand since I’ve belonged to a social atmosphere that despised her, and her ideas (aka left). It’s no one’s but my own fault to be led by a social program rather than my own experience and thinking. I don’t identify as strongly with some of her ideals, and even find gems in the ideals of the opposing theories in the book. However, the hero, the ideal, the values, this book highlights is perhaps the dearest to my heart. It’s also my only hope for the world to be better. I wonder how my life would have been different if I read and understood this book at a young age. Then again, maybe it was just the right time, to read this in these times. Just do yoursef a favor and go read this book!

Fabulous!

It appears you either love Ayn Rand or hate her; there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. I find myself more on the love side and decided to "read"; this as my first audiobook selection since I had enjoyed another work by her (We, The Living) and this book seemed pertinent to the times. I enjoyed the book a lot and it had a good narrator (which I've come to learn is key). It got me thinking about my perspective on the world and noticing the architecture in NYC, as the main characters are architects. And despite her claim that even though the book is being set in NYC, nothing is meant to represent or elude to any person or place in the City, I can't help but notice that the Castle Hill projects in the Bronx are designed exactly as those envisioned by Rourke. It can get a little tedious at times, but is beyond worth sticking it out.

Third Time

I've read this book too times but this is the first time I have download it. In my opinion, this is Ayn Ryan best work. It is timeless and each time I read or listen to it I get a new perspective on the characters and the story it self.

A wonderful story

Aynd Rand s
should be required reading in every school in America. It would teach the true value of self worth

Timeless struggle of the ego vs the wants of all.

narrator was clear and convincing. character voices were easier recognized and production is high quality. Ayn Rand is a villian to many, but a saint to few who ever dreamed of being what they were meant to be.

Fantastic Story and Phenominal Performace

First and foremost, Christopher Hunt did an amazing job at narration. He gives each character a distinct voice that seems to perfectly match their temperament and gait and makes listening so pleasurable that the 32+ hours blurs by,

The story starts off slow as much time is spent on character development and building the desired infrastructure needed to properly display her ethical and philosophic points. The meat of the novel is exciting and keeps the reader interested in listening along for the fiction. Towards the end Rand starts to piece the characters and the archetypes for which they stand for together in a beautiful collage of discussions and speeches that makes this more than just a book, but a lesson.